"The retina is not just the simple detector and neural image processor as believed until today. Its optical structure is optimised for our vision purposes," explained Erez Ribak, professor at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.

From a practical standpoint, the wiring of the human eye, a product of our evolutionary baggage does not make a lot of sense. In vertebrates, photoreceptors are located behind the neurons in the back of the eye - resulting in light scattering by the nervous fibres and blurring of our vision." New research has confirmed the biological purpose for this seemingly counter-intuitive setup," Ribak added.

He and his team are now planning to use water-filled goggles to reduce corneal aberrations, allowing observers to gain a finer view of the retina at depth. Ribak and study co-authors are set to describe their work during the 2015 American Physical Society meeting in San Antonio, Texas, March 5.